Sneaky Reader Post: Letter "M" Activities & Name Games

Welcome to the very first in a series I call "Sneaky Reader Posts!"
I've recently begun teaching (very part time) a reading/early literacy program to a local preschool class. The program I am teaching through was developed by a former teacher turned reading specialist who now teaches other teachers how to teach reading! It uses a variety of fun and evidence based methods to develop early literacy skills in pre-kindergarten aged students. Among these early reading objectives are:

• recognizing first names in print
• recognizing that letters make sounds
• identifying rhyming words
• identifying parts of a book (front cover, title page, end pages, back cover, title, author's name, illustrator's name)
• identifying action words (verbs)
• identifying descriptive words (adjectives)
• hearing and recognizing the number of beats (syllables) in words
• developing an understanding of words and word meanings--teaching little kids BIG words, as I often say
• increasing opportunities to listen to spoken language, conversations and stories read aloud
• practicing where reading begins on a page and moving from left to right
• illustrating and dictating sentences and on a particular topic through the use of journals

The goal of programs like this one or many of the amazing programs offered at local libraries for children under the age of 5 is not to create fluent readers by kindergarten. Educators recognize that children learn to read and write at different ages and stages. The most important part of developing competence in this area is by and large developing confidence in this area! Surely through exposure, opportunity and encouragement, the rest falls into place all in due time. In the mean time, children who are positively and playfully exposed to literacy at a young age develop a lifelong love of reading that will carry them as learners throughout the years to come.

My mother also taught preschool and when I was in grade school, returned to college and completed a degree in childhood literacy. For many years she tutored children who struggled with a variety of reading difficulties and trained early childhood teachers in the area of early literacy. I have only one sibling, an older sister (also an early childhood educator!) who was an avid reader growing up. She loved to read and reading came easily to her. I, on the other hand, was a reluctant reader until I was in high school. While I enjoyed creative writing, composing songs, and had a love and fascination with language, I was not the type to take to her room and snuggle up with a good book by choice. Lucky for me, I lived in a house where fostering a love for and competency in reading was nurtured but never forced. I had plenty of opportunities to develop the important skills associated with competency in reading and writing, plenty of great teachers along the way, and eventually I learned that a great book can be a great adventure, a great escape, and a great companion. 

Schedules can be busy and family time limited when it comes to extracurricular activities, appointments, homework and more. Some children love to read; some are hesitant. For a variety of reasons, we must get sneaky with our little readers--and the time to begin this is in early childhood! Any kindergarten teacher, preschool teacher, librarian or educator will tell you that the most important thing you can do to support children in early childhood is to read to them. Read, read, read and read some more! Even when you've read this book for the 857th time, feel free to read it again (or temporarily hide it and selectively introduce a new favorite). Recognize the value in your children seeing YOU read for pleasure as well. Never feel guilty for taking some time in the morning with coffee and the newspaper or spending a quiet evening together reading books on the couch. And in between that, enjoy some tips of sneaking early literacy activities into your daily routine. You can find many ideas on Pinterest, in other blogs, via your local librarian or your children's teachers. You can also find some here in my Sneaky Reader Posts. Here are some marvelous ones related to the letter "Mm" to get you started:

Mr. Munch/Munch Monster

Mr. Munch is a Munch Monster who has a hardy appetite but a sensitive palate. You can make your own Munch Monster using a recycled baby wipes container (pictured at the top of this post) and gluing on some eyes and accessories. This makes a fabulous tool for fine motor development as children learn to recognize letter beginning sounds. You can designate your Munch Monster a lover of only one letter (like the letter "Mm" as shown here) or use him for different letters on different occasions. I used letter shaped sticky notes so I can remove the letter "M" and replace it with a different soup du jour when the fancy strikes. Younger toddlers (like my son) might use letter magnets to feed Mr. Munch his favorite letter. When we play together, he "feeds" Mr. Munch his favorite letter, "Mm" and we say a hardy "mmmmmmm" together so he can begin to recognize that letter sound. If you wanted to play with the letter "Tt," you might say "tasty!" or "terrific!" As a child advances, you might mix in some other letter magnets that are not "Mm" (or your designated letter) to challenge your child to feed Mr. Munch ONLY his letter of choice. 

Alternatively, you can use pictures on flash cards or laminate your own of things that begin with the letter "Mm." Mr. Munch likes monkeys and mops, moons and money...mmmmm! Mix it up a bit with some pictures that do not begin with the letter "Mm." Zebras? Yuck! Violins? None for me!

 You can also make a Munch Monster using a paper plate folded in half. Children can draw on a mouth, a nose, and eyes and/or use stickers. They can make their monster look scary or silly, but he'd better be hungry! Inside his "mouth" should be an uppercase and lowercase letter (Mm in this scenario). Older children can trace or write their own. Using sticky notes, have your child(ren) dictate, draw or write words beginning with Mr. Munch's favorite letter to feed him.

Name Games:

What's a word that begins with Mm that we can all relate to? ME, of course! Children love opportunities to be the star of the show when it comes to learning and playing together. One of the very first words they come to recognize, read and write is their own name. Here are some clever and sneaky ways to develop important early literacy skills using your child's name.

• First letter recognition: have child(ren)'s name(s) written on a sentence strip or piece of paper. You may also wish to have an ABC chart on hand to show all of the letters. Hold up one name for the child to recognize and sing this song to the tune of "Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?":

Have you ever seen a ___________[insert child's name] , a _________, a ___________

Have you ever seen a _____________, it starts with a _____ [insert first letter of name].

• Rhyme Time: help your child to recognize rhyming sounds by rhyming their name! Some results will be quite silly and giggles are OK! You can even sing the popular name jingle below, inserting your child's name, other family members' names or friends' names:

Jane, Jane, bo-Bane, Banana-fana-fo-Fane, Fee-fi-mo-Mane, Jane!

• Recognizing Syllables: words are comprised of a beats, or syllables and different words have different numbers of beats. Using your child's name is a great way to encourage recognition of syllables in words. Try saying your child(ren)'s name(s) and clapping the number of syllables in each. Make a chart together recording the number of syllables in each child's name or the names of everyone in your family. You can also make or use a drum or tambourine to sing this song together, tapping out the number of syllables in each name:

Rum, pum, pum! This is my drum! [tap out rhythm, children can tap their knees or clap the beat]

My name is __________, what's your name?

[First model your name, then insert child's name. Each child will get to tap the syllables of his/her name on the drum before passing it to the next participant! "Bob" would get one tap, "Mary," would get two, "Olivia" would get four, and so on...]

• Words are like a puzzle made up of individual letters. In advance, prepare two sentence strips with each child's name. Hold up a child's name to show a whole word. Cut (or have older children cut) between each letter of their names. Can they put together the puzzle of their name by placing the letters in the correct order. They may use the uncut name strip for reference. 

• Tactile Awareness of Letter Formations is vital to development of writing skills. Many early readers may be reluctant writers. Drawing, tracing and writing are not skills that come easily to all children for a variety of reasons. Sometimes there can be a contributing factor like hand weakness or upper-body weakness that make using writing utensils difficult. Sometimes visual processing difficulties can make aspects of reading and writing more challenging. In some cases, additional support may be needed, but in many cases, the developmental skills required for writing will fall into place in due time. Some reluctant writers may need alternative methods for developing tactile awareness of letters (their shape, how they are formed and eventually how they are written). In previous posts, I've touched upon the use of a variety of manipulatives and materials to introduce letters including magnets, foam letters, puzzles, stamps, stickers, cookie cutters, blocks, sand letters, stencils and more. Sensory play can be another great method to introduce pre-writing skills and tactile awareness of letters and playdough is a perfect medium for this! Using store-bought playdough or even your favorite homemade recipe, have your child(ren) form the first letter of their first name. Can they form all of the letters in their name? You can also use letter cookie cutters to cut out their special letters or rubber stamps to imprint their name in playdough. Playdough is one of my go-to mediums for letter and word practice. It can really introduce children to the shape and feeling of each letter and as an added bonus, working with playdough helps develop the small muscles in the hands and larger muscles in the upper body necessary for successful writing!